What is so frightening about facing the storm?

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 37-41)

What is so frightening about facing the storm? My number one answer is the lack of control. Because even when you see it coming there is nothing you can realistically do to stop it. So you have to be prepared to face the storm, endure it and hopefully survive it. Last week I found myself right in the middle of a storm. To be honest if I had been paying attention I could have probably seen it coming. But I was distracted by other things, by the time it dawned on me that I was in storm territory I was in the middle of fire fighting. This storm was about sickness, three family members were sick at the same time, two admitted to hospital and one in a critical condition.

Facing the storm

Once you acknowledge that you are in a storm, recognise that the storm has hit. The best course of action is to face it. Lean into the storm, do not run, hid nor bury your head in the sand. In the story about the storm in the gospel of Mark the first thing I noted was that Jesus was asleep during a storm. Surely this takes a lot of confidence, the choice to be unmoved by what life throws your way. So when the storm hits don’t fall apart, remain calm. DO NOT PANIC! Remember who you are, you are a child of the Most High God. You have faith on your side, you have favour, grace over your life and most importantly Jesus is on your side. And He comes with the Holy Spirit, a two for one package!

Enduring the storm

So let’s agree that your first response should be to remain calm, resist the urge to panic. By this time you have hopefully already decided facing the storm is your sole strategy. Once you have established that the storm has hit prepare to endure it. I realised that I had to make the decision to not be overwhelmed by my circumstances. Because guess what, worry has a way of stealing your peace. For the duration of the storm no matter how hard it hits nor how long it lasts, make the decision to persevere to the end. Stand strong and sure and be confident in the one you have believed in.

Surviving the storm

The truth about storms in nature is they are frightening, threatening and unpredictable. The same can be said for spiritual storms, so surviving the storm is critical for however long it takes. Surviving the storm will require survival tactics and I addressed this in my previous blog What to do in a spiritual storm. First is Be still and wait on God and this is an active waiting, continue in prayer and praise. Second Do not be afraid, which is easier said than done because the enemy runs all sorts of thoughts through your mind, resist him and he will flee from you. Then my favourite, speak to the storm. Tell the storm how big your God is and how much He loves you! In the process you will find that you encourage yourself to persevere.